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Mourners gather at the late Sigoge Mlotshwa house in Lobengula West.

Thandeka Moyo, Chronicle Reporter
Retired Colonel Eddie Sigoge Mlotshwa who is the former deputy commander of the 3 Brigade in Mutare and was security manager of companies belonging to the late Vice-President Landa John Nkomo has died. He was 70.

Rtd Col Sigoge died yesterday of an undisclosed ailment at around 5AM at Mater Dei Hospital in Bulawayo.

His elder brother who declined to give his name told The Chronicle he was too junior to comment on Sigoge’s death.

“Wait for the elders. They will be coming from Harare,” he said.

Rtd Col Sigoge was among the golden class of combatants who had a telling influence on the outcome of the country’s war for liberation from white settlers.

He was from a special class of senior commanders Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (Zipra) that included the likes of Retired Col Masala Sibanda, Enoch Tshangange (the late Retired Major-General Jevan Maseko), Ben Mathe (Retired Brigadier-General Tshile Nleya).

Rtd Col Sigoge was an astute master tactician who was always a thorn in the side of the Rhodesian armed forces.

He is credited with engineering numerous raids that sapped the enemy’s morale and willpower to continue fighting.

Retired Brigadier General Abel Mazinyane who visited the Sigoge family yesterday to pay his condolences said:

“I first met him in 1970 while we were training in Tanzania and his pseudonym was Cashious Moya. We went through training and when we moved to Zambia, he remained in Tanzania as an instructor,” said Rtd Col Mazinyane.

“In 1976 he opened training camps in Zambia and at one time he was chief of staff at our training camp. In 1978 he became the chief of training with other army commanders.”

Rtd Col Mazinyane said they had lost a dedicated cadre who went through a lot of struggles to bring about independence in Zimbabwe.

The Sigoge family said burial arrangements would be announced in due course.

Mourners are gathered at 70903 Lobengula West in Bulawayo.

@thamamoe